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| Sul Ross State athletics photo |
After five seasons at the helm of the Lobos men's basketball program, Clif Carroll has accepted the head coaching position at Mary Hardin-Baylor in an announcement Monday, April 20.
Carroll will become just the fourth head coach in program history when he officially takes over on May 4.
Carroll said, "Dr. (Bill) Kibler, Butch Worley and Bobby Mesker took a chance on me when I was really at a low point in my career. I will be forever grateful for those three men giving me a chance. I will always have a deep admiration for Sul Ross, the community of Alpine and the Big Bend region. Everyone has treated my family like their own and we will miss Alpine greatly. I just hope that everyone doesn't boo me when we come back to play next season."
He takes over for Ken DeWeese, who coached the Cru for 22 seasons before retiring in March.
Carroll joins UMHB after a very successful five-year run as head coach at Sul Ross State. He guided the Lobos to an American Southwest Conference championship, three ASC West Division titles and a 78-55 record during his tenure in Alpine. Sul Ross is 51-28 in ASC play in that time. Carroll is a four-time ASC West Division Coach of the Year and also won D3hoops.com South Region Coach of the Year honors following Sul Ross’ ASC championship season in 2017-18. He is the winningest coach in Lobo men’s basketball history after surpassing Doug Davalos’ total earlier this season.
In addition to the on-court success, Carroll’s Lobo teams have consistently posted a team GPA over 3.00 and have compiled more than 1,300 hours of community service. He also coached the Sul Ross women’s basketball program for most of the 2016-17 season and directed the Lady Lobos to the only ASC tournament berth in program history.
“I am so excited to have this opportunity, but I am also very humbled and blessed,” Carroll said. “Mary Hardin-Baylor is a very special place. I strive for excellence in everything I do and expect from my program and I have seen that same commitment in UMHB and the way the school approaches the day-to-day expectations. I have been good friends with the coaches at UMHB and enjoyed competing against them over the years. There are some very good players in place and that should help me hit the ground running. I know them and they are familiar with me and my program and the expectations I have for my players.”
Carroll also spent two seasons as head coach at McMurry. He has been an assistant coach at Lamar University, Collin County Community College and South Plains College. Lamar won a Southland Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament during Carroll’s time on staff. Collin County won 77 games in his three-year stint and South Plains won the NJCAA national championship during his time in Levelland. Carroll started his coaching career as a student assistant for the legendary Bobby Knight at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders advanced to two NCAA Tournaments and the NIT Final Four during Carroll’s time as a student assistant.